Chesterfield: Coveted squad brings in £3 million

Phil Tooley

Chesterfield have received more than £3 million in transfer fees in the last 12 months following the departure of Tendayi Darikwa to Burnley.

Defender Darikwa departed on Thursday for a fee believed to be in the region of £500,000.

Not since the 1997 FA Cup semi-final run, which ultimately led to the departures of Kevin Davies, Sean Dyche, Billy Mercer, Paul Holland, Tom Curtis and Mark Williams for combined fees of under £2m have the Spireites had such a coveted squad.

Liam Cooper started the ball rolling with a move to Leeds United last August and Eoin Doyle joined Cardiff City in the mid-season transfer window. This summer, Gary Roberts, Sam Clucas – who brought in a record £1.3m from Hull City – and now Darikwa have added to the pot.

Chairman Dave Allen has always indicated two-thirds to three-quarters of fees would go to structural debt reduction with the rest being re-cycled in the player budget.

Manager Dean Saunders is seeking to recruit Championship-quality players to fill the sizeable gap created by the recent departures and he is also fighting off the likes of MK Dons who are desperate to bring in Sam Morsy.

Time is not on the manager’s side with the season’s opener at home to Barnsley just a week away.